Marinated Grilled Shrimp

This is a really good marinade that makes for some really good grilled shrimp.  The longer you marinate the shrimp, the more flavorful they'll be!  We ate them with a baked potato and a salad.  Feel free to scale the recipe up or down as you need to.

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup tomato sauce (or ketchup)
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a large zip-top bag, combine all ingredients, making sure the shrimp are evenly coated.  Close bag, and refrigerate for at least an hour. 

Preheat grill or grill pan to medium heat, and lightly oil grill grate.  Using skewers if desired, cook shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side, or until opaque. 

Cheesy Seafood Gratin

Need some good meat-free recipes now that Lent is here?  This one was outstanding!  This would be such a treat for your family or dinner guests lucky enough to have it.  It makes 4 servings.
I really can't say enough good things about it.  It was creamy and filling and just excellent.  This was a recipe I got a few weeks ago from the Publix ad.  The original recipe called for two small lobster tails, but I don't have a clue how to cook those, so I just loaded up on shrimp.  It also called for a can of cream of shrimp soup, but I used cream of mushroom and had great results.  The recipe below reflects that. 

The recipe also calls for 10 ounces of lobster bisque, and I used a container of Publix's bisque.  I don't know that I've noticed or seen this at other grocery stores (a la Winn Dixie or Walmart); then again, if you have a Whole Foods or Central Market another wonderfully fancy grocery store nearby, you can probably find something very similar. 

Try this!  I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

Cheesy Seafood Gratin

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 oz rotini pasta
0.8 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10 oz) container lobster bisque
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp grill seasoning

Preheat oven to 375.  Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.  Heat a large saute pan over medium.  Cook shrimp until cooked through and no longer pink, 3-4 minutes. 

Combine cheese, soup, bisque, pasta, and shrimp min a large bowl until blended; tranfer to a 2-qt baking dish.  Sprinkle bread crumbs across the top of the mixture, and dot with butter.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden and bubbly. 
 

Twice-Baked Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes

This was really good!  It's a meal all by itself.  Whenever I make grilled shrimp, I usually serve it with a baked potato, so this just combined them. 

This is a Paula Deen recipe from a particularly ridiculous Christmas special that was on Food Network a couple of weeks ago in which her two grown sons dressed up like elves and her husband dressed up as Elvis-Santa.  I love her, but I miss the old Paula--the one who didn't say "y'all" every other word, the one who didn't scream and cackle like a witch, the one who didn't deep-fry every other ingredient.

Christmas time makes me nostalgic.

Anyway.

Twice-baked potatoes are always delicious, and they only get better with shrimp sauteed in a pat of butter.  Also, don't skip sprinkling the potatoes with paprika; it smelled wonderful!  We cut the recipe in half, but I'm posting the whole recipe below.  My mom and I enjoyed making these together, and I'm sure your family will enjoy them, too. 

Twice-Baked Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes

6 large Idaho potatoes
Vegetable oil, for coating
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
Salt and ground black pepper
1 pound shrimp, peeled and sauteed
8 oz grated Cheddar cheese
Paprika, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350.  Cover a baking sheet or pan with foil. 

Begin by washing the potatoes, drying them, and gently prinking them with a fork on all sides.  Coat each potato with vegetable oil, place on the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour. 

Remove the potatoes from the oven, and slice them in half.  Scoop out the inside of the potato, and place in a large bowl.  Place the butter in the bowl.  Using a mixter on high, mix toghether, and then add the sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. 

Chop the shrimp into large pieces.  Fold the shrimp and cheese into the mixture.  Gently stuff the mixture back into the potato shells, making sure not to break them.  Pile the mixture as high as you can on top of the potato shells.  Sprinkle each potato with paprika.  Bake in the oven until browned on top, 20-25 minutes. 

Bacon and Jalapeno-Wrapped Shrimp with Cheese Dipping Sauce

Bacon, shrimp, jalapeños, and cheese.  What's not to love?  

This was one of Claire Robinson's five ingredient recipes, and I made it the day after I saw the episode.  We finished these off in no time.  It's a little time consuming, but not at all difficult.  You won't be disappointed by the results.  

Bacon and Jalapeño-Wrapped Shrimp with Cheese Dipping Sauce

8 thin slices bacon

8 roasted jalapeños, sliced in half and seeded

16 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese

3/4 cup cream

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut each piece of bacon in half and place them on a baking sheet.  Bake until half cooked, 4-5 minutes.  Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle.  

Hold one strip of the roasted jalapeño in the belly of each shrimp, and wrap it with a half piece of bacon.  Secure with a toothpick and season with pepper to taste.  Repeat with the remaining shrimp.  Arrange the shrimp on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake until shrimp are just cooked, about 10 minutes.  

Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce by adding the cheese and cream to a glass bowl.  Put the bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water.  Slowly stir until the cheese is melted into the cream and is fully blended.  

Shrimp and Gouda Grits

Continuing with my Louisiana posts, here's one from something we actually cooked. Shrimp and grits is always a good dish, but there weren't words to describe this one. This was one of the most delicious dishes I've ever tasted, but I feel like I should warn you: it's very rich. Butter, heavy cream, whole milk, half a pound of Gouda--watch out. It really didn't take long to cook, especially since there were three of us chopping the vegetables and measuring everything out. ("New Orleans Lady" just came on the radio as I'm typing this! Too perfect.) My sweet friends got this recipe from a John Folse cookbook, and he always knows what he's doing in the kitchen.

Shrimp and Gouda Grits

Ingredients for Shrimp:

2 dozen shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 stick butter

1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced

1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, minced

1/4 cup green bell pepper, minced

1/2 cup minced celery

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 cup minced andouille sausage

1/4 cup flour

4 cups shrimp stock (we used seafood stock)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup chopped green onions

salt and black pepper to taste

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium high heat. Add all vegetables and andouille, and saute for 3-5 minutes, or until slightly golden. Slowly add shrimp stock, one cup at a time, stirring until a sauce-like consistency is achieved. Additional stock may be added if necessary. Blend in cream, bring to a low boil, and then add green onions and shrimp. Cook 3-5 minutes or until shrimp curl and turn pink. Season with salt and pepper.

Ingredients for Grits:

1 1/2 cup stone ground grits (we used quick grits)

3 1/2 cups whole milk

3 1/4 cups water

1 1/2 Tbsp salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

4 Tbsp butter

1/2 lb shredded Gouda cheese (not smoked)

In a one-gallon stockpot, combine the milk, water, salt, pepper, and butter. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Add grits and stir well. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook 12-14 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened (5-7 minutes for quick grits). Remove from heat and blend in cheese. Adjust seasonings, if necessary. Top each portion of grits with four shrimp and a generous serving of sauce.